Interviewing a rap artist can be an exciting and insightful experience, but it requires thoughtful preparation and strategic questioning to truly engage your subject and elicit thoughtful responses. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore nearly two dozen questions to ask rap artists, diving deep into their musical journey, creative process, influences and aspirations.
Getting Started: Their Origins and Inspirations
To understand any rapper, you need to understand their origins Start by asking
- What first got you into music?
- Who inspired you to make music?
These open-ended questions allow artists to share their earliest connections to music and the instrumental figures who motivated their journey. Listen for details about their upbringing, family, community and musical exposures growing up
Probe deeper by asking follow-ups like:
- When did you start writing your own lyrics?
- How did you get your start performing?
Understanding Their Music and Process
Next, aim to understand their music itself:
- How would you describe the music that you typically create?
- What is your creative process like?
- How has your sound evolved over your career?
Rappers’ responses will reveal their musical style influences, and how their art has developed over time. Ask thoughtful follow-ups about their approach to songwriting biggest artistic breakthroughs and future directions.
Additionally, ask:
- Who are some of your musical inspirations?
- What current artists are you listening to right now?
This illuminates their artistic vision by identifying the legendary and contemporary voices influencing their work.
Collaborations and Connections
Great interviews uncover common ground between artists. Discover mutual interests by asking rappers:
- Who would you most like to collaborate with?
- If you could open for any artist on tour, who would it be?
Their ideal collaborations reveal who they’re captivated by creatively and professionally.
You can also learn about rappers’ influences and peers by asking:
- What other local artists helped you get started?
- Who do you see as your biggest musical influences?
Seeking their perspective on other artists tells you a lot about their sound and community.
Probing Their Lyrics and Themes
To go deeper, ask rappers about their relationship to their own lyrics:
- What topics or themes are most important for you to address in your music?
- Can you share some of the stories behind your songs?
Also explore their songwriting headspace:
- What is your headspace like when you write?
- Have you ever surprised yourself with lyrics you’ve written?
Diving into their lyrics reveals their priorities and lets you collaborate in interpreting their art.
Understanding Their Career Trajectory
It’s also important to understand rappers’ professional journeys:
- How did you get your start in music professionally?
- Who helped mentor you early in your career?
Follow up by asking:
- What were some early breakthrough moments in your career?
- What are your biggest goals as an artist right now?
This highlights seminal career moments and their current artistic and commercial objectives.
For established rappers, also ask:
- How has your career exceeded your early expectations?
- What’s the greatest lesson fame and success have taught you?
This uncovers their evolution as their notoriety grew.
Engaging Their Fan Perspective
Fans are central to any artist’s purpose, so ask:
- What is your relationship like with your fans?
- How do you choose which fan requests or feedback to act on?
Also explore their social media presence:
- How do you approach engaging with fans online?
- Do you feel pressure to present a certain image on social media?
Understanding their fan philosophy spotlights what motivates them as public figures.
Getting Personal and Philosophical
While musicians’ lives seem glamorous, look behind the curtain by asking:
- How do you take care of your physical, mental and emotional health while touring?
- How do you stay grounded and humble despite your success?
Also explore their identity beyond music:
- What are your biggest passions and interests outside of music?
- What would people be surprised to learn about you as a person?
Finally, probe the bigger picture:
- What do you think is your greater purpose as an artist?
- What do you hope your impact will be on hip hop culture and your fans?
These questions reveal intimate perspectives on their well-being, personality and aspirations.
Conversational Approach
While this question bank is thorough, conversations should flow organically. Avoid rapid-fire interrogating. Instead, interact conversationally, following tangents and probing deeper. Treat interviews as an artist-to-artist exchange, not just a fact-finding mission. Approach rappers with genuine curiosity and interest – your passion will make the interview infectious and illuminating.
When thoughtfully prepared, rap artist interviews can offer rare insight into the hearts and minds of gifted musicians. Follow this guidance to conduct engaging profiles that connect deeply with artists and fans alike.
Rap Artist interview questions
FAQ
What questions should I ask a music artist in an interview?
What are good questions to ask bands?
Do interview questions for rappers really work?
There aren’t many basic interview questions for rappers that actually work, if you ask me, because the majority of us are quite sophisticated individuals. So, in order to get the most out of an interview with a rapper, you must first do your study.
How to Ace your rapper interview questions?
Don’t worry. To help you out, How I Got My Job has come up with essential tips for you to ace your Rapper Interview Questions as a rapper. Interviews can be stressful sometimes, but the answer to stand out is being honest, speculating ourselves, and understanding our strengths and weaknesses to gain confidence and trust.
How do you interview a rapper on a podcast?
When interviewing a rapper on a podcast, it is important to ask them about their music, their inspirations, and their thoughts on the current state of the rap industry. By asking these initial questions, you will be able to get a better understanding of who the rapper is as an artist.
How do you answer a rapper interview question to perfection?
Knowing everything about yourself and analyzing your potential is what will help you the most when answering questions to perfection. Being a rapper, it is not necessary to only excel in your lyrics. It is also important to excel in your answers when replying to questions in an interview. Don’t worry.
Should you ask rappers provocative questions?
Asking rappers provocative questions is a good idea. Musicians find it difficult to answer even the most basic interview questions. Remember that you want to get into the artist’s thinking, not just acquire one-word replies quickly. That only adds to the difficulty of your work and, dare I say, the monotony of your interview.
What questions should you ask a rap artist?
By asking about their roots, creative visions, and industry takeaways, we’ve laid down a lyrical map to understand their world. These questions are ready to guide your next conversation, whether it’s a casual chat or an in-depth interview. Remember, every question is a key to unlocking a new beat in the ever-evolving story of rap.
